Sonos S2 ReFresh (80.00.08) Perceived Issues_Don't Signal the End of Your Sonos Enjoyment

I’m confident that at the end-of-the-day you’ll be enjoying your Sonos
 

I think what Sonos forgot is that music is the star, not Sonos.  They’re supposed to facilitate, not look for ways to monetize your data, or nudge your habits because their echo-chamber conference room gets conceited.

& the Moon is made of Cheese 🧀

What a load of crap. 

edit. I’m not dumping my system. I’m able to work around most issues. It’s not just about alarms. there are people who are posting they can’t get their systems to work at all. Sonos knowingly locked blind and low vision users out of using their systems. They were deceptive in not telling us the app is a beta POS and would be lacking features. 

I agree that selling their systems is a bad idea. But saying peeps should wait patiently, it will get better someday (who knows how long) is BS. 

We know both these aspects of you😂

Thank you @AjTrek1

I respect you knowledge and appreciate all you do on this forum.

I agree that

that the majority of our concerns will be addressed and/or resolved. 

My question to you is when?  

I understand different people have different needs. For me, I need an app as stable and fast as the old app, with core functionalities like playlist management, queue management, group volume, volume numbers, muting rooms, truplay, and searching for songs across services. My setup isn't complicated, just ten devices in six rooms.  I only use Spotify, Tidal, Apple, Amazon and Pandora and have just a handful of Sonos playlists/favorites.  I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things because I don't have much experience with the new app and am currently running the old version on all my devices.

Based on what I've read on the forum, it seems it can't be less than three months and could be as long as six.  I would be pleased if you told me why I was wrong and was being too pessimistic.  Or am I too optimistic?  

Because I am running the old app, I have the luxury of time.  My greatest concern is an IOS update or a Sonos cloud API change will break the old app.  I know that (eventually) is going to happen.

I’ve asked this question to others in another thread but didn’t get much of a response.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for your input!

Which old app are you referring to? I am on S1, and think/hope that I should have no such concerns? Even if I inadvertently update within S1 to the latest S1 version?

I agree. But first and foremost: Sonos should never have removed functionality from the app.

By “old” I meant v16.1 of S2.   I doubt you will have an issue since Sonos has not “pulled” S1.  It was last updated to v11.14 on March 4th, the same time v16.1 of S2 was released so they do seem to be actively maintaining it for IOS and cloud API changes.

It may be more for security patches, but it does not matter as long as it keeps working! I won’t even lose sleep if they stop updating S1, I don’t need to be up to date on security because I don't see any real threat by using it; there are more threats just now to S2 users, from Sonos.

Indeed. And not justified by a company some of whose customers think is still the gold standard for wireless audio. I wonder how new buyers of Sonos are experiencing things just now - by all accounts here, their shiny new buys would not be working quite like they thought, but I haven't see any such threads here from new buyers. Perhaps they are just returning the kit for a refund as they are able to in the 100 day return window?

That’s me. I am returning my newly bought Port, and I am not going back to Sonos as planned, upgrading my old S1 devices to new stuff. I just leave Sonos for good now.

Good luck to you; just curious though - you could have stayed on S1 forever, as I plan to, having refused to move to S2 in 2020? Old Sonos devices that are working need no real upgrades except by those that fall prey to clever Sonos marketing.

I will not leave Sonos till their hardware dies, I paid good money for it!

I didn’t know where things would ind back in 2020, only that I was very much offended by Sonos’ threats to kill our products sooner or later with an update - if we would not buy new ones and let them brick the old ones right away.

This kind of communication was not acceptable then - and I see some of the same now. No direct threats, though, just direct action. They are executing the threats instead of spending words on them.

I have learned now that the S1 devices can still work - except that they can’t, as I cannot connect them to my music library folders, it simply will not work. But even if I could somehow make use of them, I would worry each day about what Sonos could suddenly do to them, rendering them useless, as was the threat four years ago.

I don’t want to have a relationship with such a vendor. If they cannot provide a minimum amount of feeling safe with their products, I don’t want those.

S1 devices should work - mine do - to play local files if they are being controlled by the S1 app. S1 devices that could be moved to S2 and have been moved, will have hiccups.

People here that rolled back from S2 to S1 are also able to get NAS play to restart flawlessly. The problem is that Sonos has closed the door on such rollbacks, saying that the door will be reopened sometime in the future. Not good news I know, but not totally bad!

If you continue to rely on the S1 app after they stop updating it, you may want to avoid updating IOS on your devices as well.  It is possible that an updated IOS will prevent you from running the app.   I have had this happen to me with other apps over the years.

Noted, but I assume that I will get an indication that I need to update to another Sonos app, and that Sonos app updation will not happen automatically; I would then look to dig out an older phone to serve for S1 control. Because many financial transactions are via the phone, I always keep iOS updated on the phone for security reasons. I am ok with not doing that for the S1 app, because I see limited risk in that.

Good strategy.

Sonos have committed the sort of error that shuts companies.

They don’t understand their users and their own purpose. Sonos believe they are in the computer business. They aren’t - their customers buy the hardware and the app is just a mere enabling component - Sonos are in the Audio business. 

It’s astonishing that they have lost sight of their users so badly that they think this type of action is justified by the release (I’m guessing) of a piece of peripheral hardware (Headphones) that most users won’t buy…..

The clock is ticking… I have 15 pieces of hardware.that, had I not been able to roll the app back, would now be on EBay 

Nope.  Completely irresponsible to roll this out without keeping the fully functional version of the app available.  You can try to rationalize that all you want, but there’s no justification at all.

I agree - but still, I believe that 90% of the users do not even care, if they notice at all. Only those of us who expect to get somerthing for our investment in time and money, only we, who dream about specific ways these products can benefit us - only we care.

Based on the way the complaints have come in I would suggest that what we have seen is:

• May 7th - those who use their system every day
• May 8th - those who use their system every few days
• May 10/11th - those that use the system weekly
• May 14th onwards - monthly/occasional users

I believe that we will continue to see a steady flow of upset users for at least another 4 to 6 weeks. 

If their music play is hampered they would notice surely? Assuming that they use their kit to listen to music. Or are 90% of users not getting affected by this chaos?

I’ve been a Sonos user right since the begining and until the app upgrade, was very happy and a product advocate. Now I have a system that I cannot access!! Ludicrous.

I hear that tomorrow Sonos may announce their long awaited headphones. Prior to the app update debacle I would likely have bought them. Given that I can’t currently get the app (on both iPhone & iPad) or the desktop controller to even recognise my system (although I’ve yet to try app version 80.00.08) why should I put anymore money into a system that has badly let me down??

I’m a business owner and if I treated my customers like this, I would soon have no customers. I note there was an article in the Washington Post recently about this situation. Let’s watch the Sonos share price and see if that motivates Sonos to fix this appalling ownership experience.

Well, you and I see chaos but others do not. Even here in this forum there are several people describing how everything still works for them. Other users I know also tell that they have not paid attention to it.

Strange but true :)